About

Me at El Jefe Restaurant in Luquillo, Puerto Rico, in front of a mural made by artist Cheri (aka Coco Black).

Hey everyone! Ten years ago, I started this blog while I was a jaded PhD   student. I was teaching media and cultural criticism at the time, advocating   for refugees in North Carolina, and was working out my very complicated   relationship with the fashion industry. Since then, I received my PhD, left   academia for good, and became deeply entrenched in the sexual assault   and domestic violence activism space. I have also been on a journey of self-   healing and self-actualization, and after the death of my mother in 2018,  I   felt myself crack open through the grieving process. I did a lot of deep   healing work, which is still ongoing, and which I now share on my platforms to help others.

My goal for this blog ten years ago was: to create a space for public dialogue and debate, especially on issues and causes that may not get enough exposure in our mainstream media and culture. Because finding common ground is becoming more and more difficult in our seriously divided, increasingly corporatized culture, I hope that this blog can start conversations, engage with others, and find points of connection where we can all have a civilized dialogue.

While I used to post on this blog frequently, I now focus most of my energy on my Instagram AND I recently launched a Tik Tok platform as well! 🙂

My name in Russian means ‘hope,’ and it couldn’t be more fitting!  I always hope for a better world, and the quote that I most relate to is:

“Each of us has been born into this world, and each of us has been provided with a way to help others. A kind attitude of concern for those in our respective field of activity will affect them, even if it is just ten people, bringing them more comfort and less strife. If each of them, in turn, treats their associates in a similar way, then even though the effect will be gradual, it will in time be transformative. This is how we can change the world.” –Dalai Lama